In 2010, there were an estimated 137,000 new cases of leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, and more than 54,000 deaths from these cancers in the United States alone. The current standard of care in leukemia/lymphoma treatment often involves intensive, long-term chemotherapy, which can be physically taxing for the patient. Common side effects of conventional chemotherapy include immune system disruption, myelosuppression, bone marrow destruction, nausea, fatigue, liver toxicity, weight loss, hair loss, long-term cognitive impairment and therapy-related secondary tumors. A major problem with standard chemotherapy is the damage done to otherwise healthy cells and tissues in the cancer patient. Current treatment often fails to achieve long-term remission, and patients who do survive routinely experience long-lasting chemotherapy-related health concerns that prevent them from ever being truly well.
Selective targeting of the therapy specifically to the cancer cells could ameliorate most of these devastating side effects. Unfortunately, with few exceptions, selective targeting is technically difficult or impossible. Additional or alternative approaches to selectively target cancer cells, while minimizing off-target side effects, are therefore desperately needed.